Lions held private workout with Bjoern Werner

Posted by Curtis Crabtree on April 25, 2013, 2:16 AM EDT

AP

Two months ago it appeared plausible that Florida State defensive end Bjoern Werner could be an option for the Detroit Lions with the fifth pick in the draft. Now less than 24 hours before the draft is schedule to get underway that no longer appears to be a possibility.

However, that doesn’t mean the Lions aren’t still interested in Werner.

According to Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press, the Lions held a private workout with Werner in the last few weeks.

Werner likely will be a mid-to-late first round selection. If the Lions truly are intrigued with Werner, they could attempt to trade down from No. 5 or trade back into the first round to pursue Werner. Detroit could also hope he’s somehow still available for their pick early in the second round

The Lions need help at defensive end as they only have three currently on the roster in Jason Jones, Willie Young and Ronnell Lewis. Young and Lewis are backup options while Jones played on a rotational basis only with the Seattle Seahawks in 2012. The Lions could find themselves able to snag Oregon’s Dion Jordan or Ezekiel Ansah with the fifth pick. However, if neither is an option or the Lions choose to address another position, they could look to find a way to get their hands on Werner later in the first round.

This guy is actually a more polished pass rusher than Mongolia or Jordan, or obviously ansah. Fantastic use of the hands, feet never stop moving, all he did was produce sacks in college. Again, unlike the other highly touted DE prospects. He would be a steal late first and no way he makes it to the second.

The Lions were bragging last year about how they should lead the entire league in sacks last year, and then they had a miserable line riddled with problems and lost several players this past offseason. This team is going out of the way to do things the hard way. What a struggle to watch the Lions try to build this team up. They just keep treading water every year and never accumulating true talent equity in a sustainable fashion. When are they going to figure this out, after Calvin Johnson retires? We already wasted Barry’s career, and we are in the process of doing the same with CJ!

It’s crazy that there is no accountability at all for all of the top decision makers!!